


Fears of Ghosts

by LeeMorrigan



Category: 6 Underground (2019)
Genre: Car Accidents, Car Chases, Claustrophobia, F/M, Inspired by a Headcannon, Nearly Drowning, Nyctophobia, characters imperiled, sink holes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-22 14:00:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22250599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeeMorrigan/pseuds/LeeMorrigan
Summary: When a car chase goes wrong in Florida, the team's newest member and wheelman gets stuck in a hole with Four. Four is claustrophobic and Eight has a minor case of Nyctophobia. Together, they will help each other stay sane while One and Seven try to figure out how to save the day. Two, Three, and Five make brief appearances.
Relationships: Four | Billy & One (6 Underground), Four | Billy & Seven | Blaine (6 Underground), Four | Billy (6 Underground)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 54





	Fears of Ghosts

**Author's Note:**

> Triggers: They are in the tags as well but there's a sinkhole that characters get trapped in, they arein a small space, in the dark, and eventually water begins to fill the space while they are waiting to be rescued. Makes reference to a character being shot. 
> 
> Rated for the triggers above and for some swearing (this is a Ryan Reynolds movie, afterall). 
> 
> Inspired by headcannons from Cryptic Wonder.

One looked at the file in his hands. She had broken the first rule. No Contact. Ghosts were dead, they weren’t supposed to stay in any sort of contact with the people from their old lives. Eight, newest member of the team, had broken the rule.

He looked her over. Just a little older than Four, she looked like she was barely old enough to drink with that cherubic face. Even with hair that had gone white when she was in her late teens and standing at 5’10, she looked far too young to have been in a position where he could talk her into joining their team. Losing Six had convinced him that they needed someone whose entire job was to watch their backs. Seven’s first mission with the team had proved how much they needed him.

Yet, they had still had a skill gap. Three was willing, but he wasn’t Six. Eight had been a race car driver on dirt tracks and semi-pro tracks in all manner of vehicles from dirt bikes to trucks, and everything in between. She was quick, she was great at anticipating everybody around her, and she was fast to think on her feet. One had also thought she was more than a little crazy, at the wheel of a fast car, which was a bonus for the Ghosts’ work.

Eight had been a rising star in the racing world, then she had witnessed a murder only to see the murderer get off on a technicality. She had become a vigilante, of sorts, trying to prove his guilt and bring the evidence to the powers that be. All for naught. No one would listen to her.

When One approached her, she had hesitated. More than any prior member. He should have known. Even when she did agree to join, there had been something in her eyes. Something he should have paid heed to.

One growled in the back of his throat. After the mission. He couldn’t afford to take her out now. They were supposed to fly out in twenty minutes. But after the op was over, he was going to have some words with Eight. The kid had to adhere to the rules. They existed for a reason.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mission: Find Dictator On Vacation & Turn Him Over To His Ex-Wife

Location: Orlando, Florida, USA

Eight waited, reminding herself to breathe. The plan was simple: Three and Seven would cover, Two and One would retrieve the baddie, Four would be waiting as back-up, Five would have an intercepting car waiting to pick up Three and Seven, and Eight was supposed to get Two, One, and the baddie out of town in a hurry. They would rendezvous at the port, where they would get on a boat and take their baddie to a War Crimes court that was going on. He was, afterall, one of the top ten most wanted men on the planet.

Eight liked simple. It was part of what had attracted her to joining the Ghosts in the first place. No red tape, no court of appeals, no politics, no pesky rule books clearly written by someone who had never walked a mile in the shoes of those who followed the rules. Somewhere that she really got to make a difference, with a team of like-minded individuals.

Sitting in the car, waiting for what felt like hours, was not how she thought she would be making that difference in the world. Eight checked the clock on the radio. One minute had passed.

“Anyone got eyes on Two?”, came One’s voice over her ear piece.

“I thought she was with you?”

Three did not sound happy.

“She was, we split up in the hall. Didn’t anyone follow the conversation on the comm?”, One growled in exasperation.

“We couldn’t hear you.”, Four answered.

“SHIT!”

“Alright One,”, Eight started, “She didn’t come this way and Four didn’t see her. That leaves her in the building somewhere.”

“We split on the 20th floor.”

“Was she going up or down?”

“Down.”

“Where are you?”

“Tenth.”

Seven piped up, “I can see the windows on this side- no sign of her.”

“Who has the Target?”, Four asked.

“Two.”

Eight wanted to growl. Of course the Ghost who was with the bad guy is the one who vanished.

“Workin’ my way down. Four, hit the roof and follow, see if you can spot them. Keep in mind there must be something blocking our signal if you didn’t hear us talking earlier.”

“On it.”, Four replied.

Eight felt herself bouncing. Her feet rapped against the floor as if she were doing the fastest Irish Riverdance ever danced, her fingers drummed rapidly across her thighs, and her eyes scanned the full width of her eyeline. Back and forth, back and forth she swept with her eyes. She wanted to find Two, if she could.

“Found her!”, Four called.

“Where?”, One and Three asked.

“Top floor. Injured, comm busted. Target has been eliminated.”

“ELIMINATED?”, squawked their leader.

There was a tussle over the radio before Two’s accented tone came across.

“He tried to use his daughter as a fucking shield. I didn’t miss.”

No one needed any further elaboration.

“Alright, Two you still on?”

“Yes.”

“Go with Four, head down. We’re getting out of Dodge.”

“Change of plan, One. We’ve got company. Sending Two down elevator, I’ll take the stairs!”, Four peppered out before they could hear the air rushing past his mic.

One started calling out orders for the new plan.

“Three, we’re waiting at the bottom. Seven, keep up the cover till everyone is clear. Eight, you’re picking up Seven and Four. Five, rest of us will come to you.”

“Copy.”, Five answered.

After that, Eight would describe the scene as pandemonium. Guns, One and Seven shouting, Three freaking out over Two’s bleeding wounds, Five freaking out in general over no one giving her details, Four dodging gunmen, and four cars full of gunmen appearing from a parking garage next door.

“Five?”, Eight asked as she maneuvered her mustang.

“Yeah?”

“Move three blocks down to the East exit. One, Two, and Three- get your butts down to her. We’ve got four mobile minions and I’m going to try to even this up.”

Throwing it into reverse, Eight lined herself up and then gunned the engine. She zoomed past two of the black SUVs, flipping them off for good measure. They took the bait. Both followed her down the street.

“I got Marco and Polo. You guys got Beavus and Butthead?”

Seven answered.

“I got Beavus. He’s going through a parking garage after Three.”

“I got Two with me. We’re waiting for Five.”, came One.

“Be there in under a minute!”, she told them.

Eight took a sharp turn around a corner, nearly rubbing her side mirror on the corner of a building. The first SUV wasn’t as quick and took off a chunk of their fender. The rear SUV did better.

“Four?”, One shouted.

“Yeah?”

“Find Eight. Give her a hand.”

“I got this, One.”, she argued with him.

“No, Four’s helping you. Now shut up and drive!”

Eight kept an ear plugged to her teammates, though her eyes were on her task. Busting up the two SUVs. She took another turn, going into a narrower, one-way street. Both SUVs followed her, taking out their side mirrors as they did.

“Eight, where are you?”

“One-way heading south towards Marquis Street.”

“On it.”

Seeing that she was going to hit another one-way street, Eight got an idea.

“Four, I’m gonna head towards the huge souvenir shop.”

“Blue one?”

“That one.”

She came out to the one-way and dove around to almost make a U-turn to go back up the street parallel to the one-way she had just come off of. Unfortunately, the first SUV made it through and was able to get to the third street down, running alongside her. She lost the second SUV.

“Where are you, Eight?”

“One street over.”

“The SUVs?”

“One down from me and the other is MIA.”

“Turn a sharp right when you hit the end.”

“Right?”

“Yeah. I’ve got an idea.”

“Copy that.”

She trusted Four. He would make sure she lost this SUV. Once in place, she took a sharp right turn and found herself on a street all alone for half a second before the SUV popped out and was heading straight for her. Suddenly, a load of bricks came flying down. She could see them in the reflection of the SUV’s hood and she yanking the wheel right again, heading the wrong way on a one-way street while the SUV drove right into the falling bricks.

“GO FOUR!”, she shouted without thinking of the microphones.

“Thanks. Where’s Polo?”

“I don’t know, I lost him before the left turn.”

Eight hit her breaks, still hidden between buildings. She waited.

“What are you doing, Eight?”

“Waiting for Ugly to rear its head.”

No sooner had she said it than the second SUV drove past her, screeching to a halt and backing up quickly. She grinned. This was going to be fun. Once more, she put her mustang into reverse and flew backward.

“Oh shit, Eight.”

“Yeah, yeah. You still got that rocket launcher?”

“Yeah.”

“Ready, aim, fire.”

Four ran for it, dodging and weaving about the rooftops till he got into position. Pulling the gun from the small pack on his back, Four leveled it and waited. He squeezed the trigger firmly and evenly, sending the small explosive round flying through the air and landing in the back seat of the SUV. The vehicle blew apart almost instantly.

“Direct hit!”, Eight called.

Four moved again, scrambling for the edge of the roof. Time to head home. Eight waited for him as he made his way down the various fire escapes and gutters to crisscross his way down the sides of two buildings and to street level. Grinning ear to ear, he slide easily into the passenger seat. Remarkably, the mustang was unharmed despite what stunts Eight had pulled. Four wasn’t all that surprised.

“Good job, Eight.”

“Thanks. Not too shabby yourself.”

“Can we flirt later, children? Come on, meet you at the rendezvous point.”, One whined.

Four and Eight exchanged playfully exasperated looks before Four pulled up the radio.

“Sure thing, Dad.”

“Don’t call me that.”

He didn’t miss the other man’s tone. It wasn’t the one normally resulting from the casual teasing they all did over the radio. This was more like Three when someone casually mentioned family at funerals, or Five when someone mentioned certain holidays. Neither had a chance to ponder the change of tone before they were plowed into by a large SUV.

“FOUR? EIGHT?”, and echo of voices called.

The voices were met with silence.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Everything hurt. Four breathed. Always check ribs and head first. He breathed again. It hurt, but belly-flop-in-the-pool hurt, not broken-ribs hurt. He opened his eyes. Fuzzy and dim. He blinked several times, clearing his vision to the point that he could tell he was in a car. A nicer car, leather seats but a broken windshield. Next, he turned his head.

 _Well, neck works_. He wiggled his toes, then fingers. It all worked. His right shoulder hurt worse than the left, so same for his legs. His vision blurred a bit. Red. Reaching, her carefully probed around his face and eye. Blood. A cut overtop his eyebrow, almost in the same spot as his scar.

“Billy?”

He turned faster than he shoulder have, making his neck hurt worse and his vision swim for a second before fixing on a pale face. Pale face, white hair, dark eyes. Eleanore.

“Elle?”

“Alive. You?”

“Functioning.”

She nodded.

“What happened?”, he questioned.

“There was a third SUV after us that we didn’t know about. Seven radioed a couple minutes ago. Two’s bleeding pretty bad, so they had to leave her with Five. Three’s got orders to guard them while Five patches Two up.”

Billy nodded. That all made sense. He just wanted to know where the other SUV was.

“One and Seven are nearby. Had to turn the radios off. Too many cops and stuff in the area. We triggered a cave-in.”

“What?”

“We triggered a cave-in. I don’t know if it was the explosive you used or the gas tank on that other SUV blowing when they hit us, or maybe some combo of the two, or just bad luck maybe? But we’re under street level and we’re stuck until they clear the area and are able to safely set up and save us.”

“How long?”

“Don’t know.”

Billy looked around. The windshield wasn’t just broken, it was pushed in a bit and as he looked up, he realized the roof was as well. A large beam had skewered the engine block. Turning, Billy had another disconcerting observation. His seatbelt was stuck.

“Where’s my knife?”

“I already searched you pocket on this side.”

Billy started to dig through his pockets, trying to find something he could cut the seatbelt off with. There was nothing. Not even a broken piece of glass he could reach and do like in some kind of BOND film.

They were in a hole, underground, with debris occasionally falling on the roof of the car, and their seatbelts were stuck. He could feel his blood pressure and heart rate responding to his situation. He tried the door. It wouldn’t budge. Billy tried to kick the floor. Dust fell into his eyes and something metallic let out a groan.

“Billy.”

He struggled against the seatbelt. No. Nope. He was NOT staying in this deathtrap. No. Way. He was not going to do it.

“Billy.”

He tried to look into the back seat. Surely there was something useful back there he could use. Had to be. Something. Anything.

“BILLY!”

He snapped his attention to Eight. She looked worried.

“Hey, Billy? Billy?”

He felt her hands as they found his, putting her in an awkward position around her seatbelt to reach out to him. Billy looked into her dark eyes.

“Can you do me a favor?”

He started to say something until she stopped him with a squeeze of his hands a stern look.

“Breathe with me.”

She shushed him when he tried to argue. He tried to follow along, yet found that he could not ignore the confines of the space they occupied. The small space.

“Let’s try this.”, she muttered before tugging his left hand to her chest, the heel of his hand almost in the valley between her breasts.

“In.”, she said before slowly and evenly breathing in.

She held it, softly counting down with her hand.

“And out.”, she instructed before demonstrating.

“Again.”, she said as she repeated the action.

He could feel the rise and fall of her chest, the expansion and collapse as she inhaled and exhaled. In and out. In and out. Slowly, he felt his own heartrate slow and his blood nolonger rushed in his ears.

She smiled, encouraging him through a few more breaths. Eventually, she dropped his hand. Billy maintained eye contact for a bit before sitting back in his seat.

“How long do you guess before they will get us out of here?”

“I don’t know. Probably not long. I’d guess they are just making sure of any cars parked near here, people in buildings close by, and doing anything with power, water, and phone lines that needs done.”

“Phone lines?”

“Yeah. This part of town, there are still payphones on several corners and at least two gas stations I saw on the way to the hotel. Those are landlines, so they’ve probably got cable attached.”

“Did you see the other car?”

“The one that hit us? Not after the explosion.”

She looked up, as if trying to peer around the top edge of her window to see above them. Billy just focused on her. If he looked out the windows, he would remember he was trapped inside a car, at least one-story below street level.

“I think it may still be up there, which is good.”

Billy thought about that. It had exploded. Something smoldering and hot was not something you wanted to be trapped in a small space with. Billy didn’t want to be in a small space at all, trapped or otherwise. He felt himself starting to shake again and his breath trying to gallop away from him. Then he felt a warm hand gently enfold around his own.

“Billy.”, she softly spoke.

“I’m good. I’m good. Just breathing over here.”

“Sorry I got us stuck in a hole.”

“Not your fault.”

Billy felt Elle’s finger gently tracing a pattern across the inside of his palm. Focusing on the light touch, he fought back his unease at their situation.

“Could be worse.”, Elle started.

“Don’t say something like ‘It could be raining’, cause it will rain once you say that.”

He heard a slight, half-chuckle. Billy closed his eyes. If he couldn’t see the situation he was in, he wouldn’t feel so encroached upon. So closed-in.

“I was going to say, you could have been stuck down here with One. Or I could have been.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at that. One didn’t have the issue with enclosed spaces like Billy did, but he hated being stuck and unable to move or act. He would have driven Billy to madness if they had gotten stuck together. Elle probably would have knocked One out, as soon as he started to annoy her, then she would have been stuck in the quiet. Billy was aware that Elle hated silence.

“Can you imagine if Three and One got stuck together.”

“I’d sell tickets.”, Elle joked.

“She squeezed his fingers gently, tugging his hand towards her to place a soft kiss on the back of his hand.

“We’ll be alright, Billy.”

“I know.”

“Then tell your pulse that before you stroke out.”

“I’m trying.”

She turned his hand over, kissing the inside of his wrist. He squirmed a bit, having never told her how badly ticklish he was. He was pretty sure she had just figured it out.

“That was mean.”

Elle chuckled deep in her throat. Billy loved hearing her laugh, even a small chuckle at his expense.

“Would you care if I tried to sleep until they got to us?”

“No. I might join you.”

“Alright, naptime.”

He saw her smile before she tilted her head back against the headrest and let her eyes drift closed. Billy tried to. He wanted to just sleep through the rest of this ordeal. They were stuck in a hole, in the ground, with a pipe through part of the car, and he still didn’t hear any sirens from any sort of help.

“Stop thinking. Go to sleep.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

One looked back at the site manager with barely contained anger. He felt Seven’s grip on his elbow and knew the other man was concerned that One was about to explode. But he wouldn’t. Not yet. He had two team members who needed saving first. Then One could give into the urge to punch people who annoyed him.

“Come on, boss. We’ll wait here. It’s only a couple more hours.”

“Or up to 12. They have already been in there for almost four.”

Seven tugged One’s arm forcefully enough to move him backward an inch. It was enough to get One’s attention. They had no way for the two of them to get past all the workers, police, and media, slip in, grab up Four and Eight, then get out. And that was assuming neither of his teammates were badly enough injured that they needed neck braces or emergency surgery. He doubted he and Seven could get them out if they were that bad off, and off to Five, before they died.

“Fine.”, One growled before turning back to the site manager and pointing a finger into the man’s face. “But if either person in that car dies, I will be back. And no one will talk me down then.”

He walked off with Seven, checking his watch again. They had been down in that sinkhole for 3 hours and 42 minutes. One did not like it. And unfortunately, with all these people just standing around looking at or filming the scene, they could not sneak in to save their teammates. At least not half-cocked and in a hurry.

“See that camera van over there?”, Seven asked.

“Yeah.”

“They are leaving it unlocked. There will be gear in there.”

“Are you suggesting we steal stuff out of it and go rescue them?”

“We’d need Five. I have some training for a Medic, but not enough to handle two people who’ve been blown up, crashed into, and left for hours.”

“At least it’s Florida. It won’t be cold once the sun sets.”

“There is that.”, concurred Seven.

“We give them two hours. If they haven’t gotten Four and Eight out by then, we go in.”

“I’m going up. I’ve got my scope, I can see if maybe there’s a view that will let me see what kind of shape they are in. Now that the cops are mostly looking at the hole and not at the buildings nearby, should be simple.”

“Good.”

Seven turned to look at their team leader, eyeing him a bit.

“I wear an Extra Tall.”

“Wasn’t sizing you up, One. I was trying to judge if I need to tie you to something while I’m gone.”

“I won’t move until you get back. Got no intel.”

Seven nodded.

“Alright. Going up to that building over there, to the West of their position. I should have the best chance of a clear line of sight, from about the 15th floor. Maybe one or two higher, depending how deep they fell.”

“Good. Go.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Eight woke to the feeling of something cold about her left foot. Raising her head, she mentally chanted for it not to be a snake. Bugs were not her favorite and spiders were cool as long as they weren’t bigger than a golf ball, but snakes she was not good with at all. It was getting dark and hard to see, which also wasn’t sitting well with Eight. She moved her head to look by her left foot.

Water. There was a couple inches of water and with the car tipped slightly so the driver’s seat was a few inches lower than the passenger side, leaving her left foot partially submerged in the little pond. Worse, as she listened she was fairly certain the water was trickling in from somewhere. Maybe more than one source of water.

“Elle?”

“Uh-huh.”

“That water appeared in the last ten minutes.”

“So, two inches of water every ten minutes. Good to know.”

Four shook his head.

“Guess that means we’ve got two hours till it’ll be to my chest and your belly.”, Eight added.

“They’ll get us before then.”

She nodded. Eight wasn’t entirely sure Four was right, or that he even believed what he was saying, but she was willing to play along to maintain their calm. She also was noticing that the light was fading and in their hole, the ambient light of the city wasn’t making much of an impact. She could barely make out her feet and there was barely enough glow to be able to read Four’s facial expression.

“Elle?”

“Yeah?”

“Breathe.”

“That’s my line.”, she tried to tease.

“I know.”, he said before reaching to start playing around in the glove box., “But I also know you’re afraid of the dark.”

“Silly people, Trixs are for kids.”

“You don’t have to act brave, Elle.”

She smiled, trying to relax back in her seat. It was a pretty comfortable seat. One of her favorite things about mustangs had always been the seats. Jeeps usually had comfortable captain chairs as well.

“I’m not being brave, just trying to keep my mind occupied. We could play a driving game.”

“What, like I SPY? Might get a little boring down here.”

“True. How about 21 QUESTIONS?”

“Nah. Never been very good at it.”

“Knock knock jokes?”

“Sure.”, he said softly, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“Alright, I’ll go first. Knock knock.”

“Whose there?”

“Hatch.”

“Hatch who?”

“Bless you.”

Billy stopped for a moment, thinking about it, then looked over at her with a bright smile. She was smiling back as if trying to hold in a laugh.

“You cheeky monkey.”

“No, that’s a different Knock Knock joke.”

“Alright, my turn. Knock knock.”

“Whose there?”

“Voodoo.”

“Voodoo who?”

“Voodoo you think you are, asking all these questions?”

She snorted. Billy laughed at the snort.

“My turn.”

They went back and forth for a long while, making each other laugh and mostly keeping their minds from over thinking their current circumstance. Yet as the light faded and the water level rose, it grew harder and harder to ignore their predicament.

“Elle?”

“Water’s gettin’ higher.”

“I noticed. Elle, look at me.”

Her knees were in the water and it was starting to drip into her seat. She could feel a rivet dripping back down her thigh. The air had felt nice but the water, not so much. While the pavement, car, and air had been sun-warmed through the day but this water definitely had not.

“Elle, look at me.”

Forcing her head, she turned to look over at Billy. He reached a parkour-roughened hand over and gave her forearm a gentle squeeze.

“We’re going to be OK, you know? One and Seven will get us out of here soon.”

She smiled, nodding.

“Here.”, he slid his hand down to hold hers.

“It’s getting dark.”

“I’m more concerned about that water. Not much over here, but it’s cold.”

“Yeah.”

“Can you move your legs to get out of it a bit?”

“Not really. Already moved them as far as I could.”

“Well, move your toes and feet, flex and relax the muscles in your legs. Increase circulation.”

“Already on it.”

“Good girl.”

“Making me sound like a horse.”

He tried to joke, “Race horse.”

“No.”

“You wouldn’t be a race horse?”

“My grandfather used to make fun of race horses. Used to call them long-neck good-for-nothings. Said when he helped his neighbor work with them, they were so high strung and so stupid, cause he was sure they had bread them to have too small of a head, so it made them as dumb as chickens, if you asked him. He had another neighbor, she owned four so-called War Horses. They were as broad as Clydesdales with large, sturdy legs, beautiful manes, and these huge heads. I used to go out and help her sometimes. They were smart, loyal, spirited, and so beautiful to watch. They had the best gait.”

“Sounds nice.”

“It was. I liked watching them from the best seat on the fence.”

“Elle, your grip is loosening. You feelin’ alright?”

“Yeah, sorry. Day dreaming. How’s your head?”

“Still on.”

“Hardy har har. No, really.”

“I’m okay. No double-vision or dizziness, nothing like that.”

“You ever play one of those Getting To Know You stupid games on Facebook?”

“Of course.”

“Let’s do one.”

“Sure.”, she said before checking the water level again.

“Tattoos?”

“None. You?”

“Three.”

She looked over at him, arching an eyebrow.

“Neck and the hand one, where’ve you got a third one?”

He grinned.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“I wouldn’t have asked otherw… Ohhh, inuendo.”

He chuckled as she rolled her eyes at him.

“You really aren’t very good at this flirting thing, are you?”, he asked honestly.

“Not at all. I’m pretty sure you’d need the subtly of a sledgehammer for me to have any hope of realizing someone was flirting.”

“Well, subtly never was my strong suit.”

Looking over at him with her eyes narrowed, she asked, “Are you flirting with me?”

“And if I was?”

“Well I haven’t shucked your hand away yet.”

He nodded as he watched her eyes. It was true. Elle wasn’t usually much on physical contact, aside from giving Three a high-five for a good joke or bumping Four’s shoulder when she could tell he was worried or thinking too much.

“One will kill us. He already claims Three and Two make him want to leave us all on an iceberg.”

“True. He might have to start seeing Five or Seven, in order not to feel left out.”

Billy did bust out laughing at that. Somehow, he wasn’t sure which was crazier, Five or Seven being the love-interest for their fearless leader. When Billy looked over, however, he felt the mirth drop right out of him. Eleanore was rubbing her thigh with her free hand, clearly trying to keep her leg warmer as the cold water was coming into more and more contact with her, stealing her body heat.

“Elle, stay with me.”

“I’m seatbelted in, I ain’t going noplace.”

“You know what I mean.”

She smiled, letting her head rest against the chair.

“I know, I was teasing. As long as I can joke, I know we aren’t too far gone.”

“Good point.”

They were quiet for a while.

“So, where’s the third tattoo?”

He smiled.

“Upper thigh. Alright, are you named after someone?”

“Nope.”

“Me either. Biggest secret at a job?”

“My mom knows I’m not-dead.”

Billy whipped his head over to her, seeing that she was sitting with her eyes focused on the debris in front of them.

“Does One know about it?”

“I assume not, since I’m still on the team and he hasn’t threatened to kill me for breaking the rules.”

“How did you let her know?”

“The day before I was set to have my fake-death, I sent her a letter. I made a bunch of references to movies where the main character disappeared by faking their death, and some movies where Witness Protection was the major plot device. Then, I basically told her that I was doing all that I could to be like those characters- that I was risking it all to go do something that would make a difference in the world. That I didn’t want her to cry or be upset cause I wasn’t really gone.”

He nodded.

“Did she come to the funeral?”

“No. She was working in Alaska and I was working in North Carolina. She sent a letter to my roommate saying she was too sick with grief to attend, so no one questioned her not being there.”

Billy thought about it. Eleanore talked enough about her mom and her grandpa for him to figure she had been close to her family. That was something they did not have in common.

“You okay?”, she asked.

“I was shocked when my mum came to mine. I hadn’t talked to her since she went to prison five years earlier. Drugs. That’s how I learned to be a thief, I had to get her money. And I had to make sure I got away, cause I had to go take care of her. But, a few years ago she just… she couldn’t get by on what I was stealing and she was doing all sorts of stupid… just stupid stunts. I couldn’t stay and watch her, so I left. Traveled around. Went from place to place, group to group, job to job. Then One showed up and… I was dead. It was done. I went to my funeral and I was shocked to see her. I hadn’t had any contact with her since she had gone to prison and I called her to talk to her right after her conviction. She had cursed me out, telling me it was all my fault. I didn’t call her again.”

Eleanore gave his hand a squeeze. This was the most she had ever heard him say in one go. Even when he was trying to talk Seven into helping him profile One.

“At my funeral, she looked like she had aged twenty years in the seven since I had seen her. Her hair was grey, all grey. She’d always had some grey as long as I could remember, but most of it had still been pale brown. She used to dye the grey some shade of red when I was little and she was still good enough to hold down a job for a few weeks at a time. It would look pretty, then she’d get… shaky and moody, and she wouldn’t dye it and she would start missing work.”

He let out a long breath. Despite the lack of light, Eleanore could see his eyes were wet with unshed tears.

“It was hard, watching her crying. It didn’t really hit me till I was sleeping in my trailer at the Graveyard that first night- she was probably thinking about our last conversation, when she told me that it was my fault she was on drugs, my fault she was in prison, my fault she was all alone, and then she had finally gotten clean and gotten her life together, only to have to go to my funeral.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault. I’ve checked in on her a couple times. She’s still clean. Works at a place that helps women who are trying to get back on their feet after leaving abusive relationships. Seems to have done wonders for her. She looks a lot better.”

“That’s good. Maybe that was her chance, like what One offered you- maybe jail and losing you, it gave her clarity and purpose.”

He smiled over at her. In her 29 years of life, she had never seen a smile like that. The mixture of relief, joy, tiredness, and something else she could not quite identify.

“I never thought of it that way.”

“Maybe you should try.”

“True. Guess this job gave more than just the nine of us a second chance, huh?”

Eleanore nodded.

“Well, Three’s mom got to see him happy and in a good headspace, with someone he loves, and honestly from what he says, it sounds like her mental clarity has improved a bit. Seven said his nephew that was named after him, joined the fire department with the idea of doing something that would make his uncle proud.”

“It does sound like we’re all maybe helping people in our six degrees of separation thing.”

He saw Eleanore opening her mouth when there was a metallic groan. Both of them froze, straining to hear any further noise. Then Billy noticed something concerning. The water level was rising much faster than before.

“Elle?”

“I know. I know.”

“Are you sure you can’t get out of your seat?”

“Yeah, you?”

Billy tried, wiggling around, only to make his seatbelt tighten closer to him. It was biting into his hips and shoulder as he tried to move. He moved a bit to his right, trying to wriggle free.

“Billy, stop. The shaking seems to be making the water come in even faster.”

He stopped so fast there should have been a sound effect. Then he felt Eleanore’s hand move into his, gripping it a bit more tightly than before. Looking over, Billy could see the water had risen to her chest level. Her left arm was almost fully submerged and he could tell she was beginning to shiver. It wasn’t till then that he realized how bitingly cold the water was. It had to have been water from inside the city, flowing under air-conditioned buildings, never coming near heat from the sun.

“Elle, you with me?”

“Want a history lesson?”

“Now?”

“No, on the car ride home. Yes, now.”

“Okay.”

“In Asia, I forget which country right now, but they had women who got pearls. They would strip naked and dive into freezing water for pearls. They even used to sing these songs to intentionally hyperventilate to help deal with the gas changes so they didn’t get the bends.”

“Interesting.”

“Yeah, but they were smart for using women. Less muscle mass, so they don’t burn up their O2 as fast. And women aren’t built the same as men, our muscle is on the inside of our fat-layer, so our muscle makes heat and our fat-layer insulates us from the cold water outside, so we don’t lose our body heat in cold water, as fast as men would.”

He got her point. She was trying to keep him from worrying.

“Women are superheroes is what you’re saying?”

She let out a small laugh, smiling a bit though she was beginning to look far more tired than she had been.

“I have one word for you- Amazons.”

Billy chuckled, giving her hand a small squeeze.

“They’ll get us out of here, Elle.”

“I know.”

They fell back on Knock-Knock jokes for a while until there was a bright light. Eleanore was barely keeping her chin out of the water and Billy’s chest was mostly submerged, as the line came down to them with a small radio on it. Billy reached, getting ahold of it.

“Two people down there?”

“Yes.”, Four answered.

“Good. Give us ten minutes, we’ll have you out.”, a slightly southern-accent informed them.

Four pulled the radio close.

“We’ve got water filling up, we don’t have ten minutes before the driver is going to be completely under water! Get your asses down here!”

He felt her give him a tug, and was shaking her head. In the middle of this and she still expected him to be polite with regular people.

“Sir, stay calm. Just how high is the water in the car?”

“Her chin is under water!”

“Can you release your seatbelts?”

“No.”

“We’ll be right down.”

No sooner had he said that to them, than Four heard something fall onto the roof, nearly sending him up through it. Then he heard another sound that he recognized well. Someone zipping down a line. The feet landed carefully on the roof of the car before the person moved around and began working on the driver’s door. It was less-damaged than Four’s side, and more likely for them to be able to get it open.

“I’ll have you out in a minute or two. Please, remain calm.”

Four gripped Eight’s hand. She smiled over at him while still working to stay stretched as far as her spine would allow to keep her head above water. The door came open, just before a man in a wet suit dropped down beside the vehicle in the small space available. He looked well-tanned and about 30 years old.

“Hey, name’s John. Are either of you injured?”

Four answered.

“Just bumps and bruises, as far as we could tell.”

“Alright. Give me a sec here to cut your belts, and we’ll get you out of here, and someplace warm and dry to check you out.”

The man, John, cut Eight loose first. He held onto her arm while leading her up out of the car and to stand beside him. After so long stuck in the icy water, her legs were a bit wobbly and numb.

“I can hook you up.”

“Not until he’s loose.”

“Ma’am, it’s no trouble.”

“No, I’m staying until you get my friend out.”

John seemed to realize how unlikely it was that he would win any fight with her. He moved to cut Four free from the seatbelt and then moved over the damaged hood to get to Four’s side of the car.

“Don’t think you’ll be able to free the door, I’ll just crawl over.”

“Alright.”

The guy moved over, and Four crawled through the cab of the car and out the door. The man looked them up and down, clearly checking for injuries. Four knew he had the cut by his eye and that Eight was bruised across her hands and possibly both of them from the seatbelts. Otherwise, they were free of injury.

“Since the lady here was more submerged, I’m gonna send her up first, then you sir. That alright?”

Both of them nodded. John hooked Eight up in the rigging and had the men at the street level, pull her up with the pully rig. Four watched intently, as she went up into the artificial light their rescuers had set up above. She reached street level quickly and was pulled off the rope in order to free it up for Four, while someone up top helped Eight get out of the rig.

John helped Four maintain his balance as he slid into the harness and then tied onto the rigging to be raised. They pulled him up and he immediately sought out Eight. She was off to the side, being examined by an EMT looking person. Off to the EMT’s right was another figure. Seven. He looked back at Four and winked, giving a head tilt to the front of the ambulance. Four checked. One was in the driver’s seat. Four grinned. They hadn’t been left. Not that he figured Seven would allow it or that One would still think to do so. It was still a relief.

~*~*~*~*~*~

One watched, she could feel it, as she walked out of the Command Trailer at the Graveyard. They had been engaged in a discussion about her breaking rule number one. No contact with the previous life and no negating your faked death. Her informing her mom, even in a somewhat round about way, that she wasn’t really dead, was a major break in One’s opinion.

Eight wasn’t going to let it bother her though, not tonight. She had a date. Well, not a real date but it was a predetermined appointment with someone with whom she shared feelings. It was almost a date. Eight walked past her trailer with all her car stuff, past Two’s trailer where she could clearly hear music and the sound of Three singing along as he made dinner, past Five’s that had lights showing from the latest reality TV program the other woman was obsessed with this week, and over to Four’s.

His was the most-plain looking on the outside, painted to blend into the dirt. The inside, however, was vibrant. Brightly colored furniture, movie posters on the walls, even the speakers for his sound system were a brilliant orange with silver detailing. Everything about his trailer was warm, bright, and lively. Four in a nutshell.

“Hey, Billy!”, she called as she walked in.

From in his small kitchen, he waved over his shoulder. It looked like he was making scrambled eggs and pre-cooked sausage. Eleanore could not fault him, that was about as far as her culinary skill extended. She had nearly set her trailer on fire the first time she tried to cook after joining the Ghosts. After that, Seven and Three insisted on inviting her over to eat with them instead of letting her attempt cooking again.

“Hope you like breakfast for dinner.”

“I do, actually. Need any help?”

The look he gave her was that of almost panic before covering it with a smile.

“Three isn’t here with the fire extinguisher, so no.”

“Fine, I’ll get drinks. I can operate a fridge without incident. Cola, citrus, water, or juice?”, she asked without having to bother checking his cupboards.

“I’ve got an energy drink in there.”

She nodded. Caffeine having the opposite effect on ADHD people meant that it was normal to see Four sucking down some super-caffeinated beverage shortly before he expected to sleep. She poured his into a glass and poured herself a mountain dew.

Setting his coffee table as if it were a dining room table, with serviettes and silverware, she set out their drinks, and returned to help bring in the condiments. Ketchup and pepper for the eggs, some syrup for the short stacks he had microwaved for them. Meanwhile, Billy got the eggs, sausage, and pancakes. At the sofa, they tucked in with some Netflix.

“I’m really liking this WITCHER series. Good stuff.”, Billy commented.

“I kind of love his horse.”

Billy smiled.

“Roach is pretty cool. I thought you’d be all in love with Jaskier.”

“Nah, he’s too… I dunno, I mean I like him enough as a character, but without Geralt as a foil, I doubt I’d notice him.”

“Ouch.”

“I was trying not to be mean.”

“I know. Yen’s pretty hot.”

“Agreed.”

They continued watching as they scarfed down their meal. Two episodes later, they took a break.

“You still hungry?”, she asked as Billy switched off the TV.

“No.”

Looking over, Billy smiled. He had made sure to leave a few smaller lights on throughout his trailer, so they wouldn’t be in the dark even after sunset. Eleanore was already skittish about being in the dark before their adventure in Florida. Since then, he had noticed an uptick in the panic in her eyes when she even thought about being in the dark.

“I wanted to talk a little.”

She arched an eyebrow at him, reminding him of a sexy Spock.

“Uh-huh.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not Netflix and Chill. No I just… after what happened last week.”

“You mean nearly dying in a sink hole in Florida?”

He nodded.

“Yeah, that.”

“Okay, let’s talk.”

He turned in his seat so he could face her a little better. They sat opposite of how they had been that night last week, with his right arm loosely over the back of her seat. It also meant she had a better view of his bandaged eyebrow while he had a better view of the cut on the left side of her neck that he had been unaware of before since it blended in with her scarf and her dark blue shirt. Billy reached over, tracing the edge of her bandage.

“How are you?”

“Well, I am having a little trouble sleeping. My bedroom is just too…close, I guess.”

“Have you tried opening the window?”

“Yeah, then I’m worried that something will fly in like an owl or a bat, and it’ll have a shock and die, so I can’t sleep because of that. What about you?”

“I’ve got a screen on my window, so I’ve left it open. Have had a little trouble with that from Day 1, so that’s why I put the screen in. I’ve got something else to help, too.”

Getting up, he gestured for her to follow. Eleanore did, an indulgent smile on her face as he tugged her by two fingers gently back to his bedroom. He launched himself onto the queen-sized bed, laying back and pointing up. Without question or comment, Eleanore turned and let herself fall backward into his bed so she could mimic him and see what he was pointing at.

There, above the bed was a giant skylight. It was only slightly narrower than the bed and half as long. On nights when he was restless and couldn’t sleep, he would lay there with a mug of hot English tea, made with a proper kettle, and enjoy the view one could only find in the middle of a desert. Stars shining brilliantly above and a mug steaming in hand, it was hard not to be lulled off with such a combination.

“It’s beautiful.”, Eleanore whispered in awe.

Billy turned to watch her face. His bedroom had a small purple light in the corner that reminded him of the purple neon light that had been outside his bedroom window as a kid. Back before the drugs and stealing. The pale glow illuminated her features and gave her shocking white hair a lilac tint.

“Can’t beat my view.”, he whispered back.

“You certainly can’t.”, she answered as she continued to be lost in the cosmos.

Billy was about to say something when he felt Eleanore’s pinky wrap around his gently.

“Thank you.”

Billy was sure he would burst.

“You’re welcome.”

“I may have to install one of these in my trailer.”

“I’ll help.”

“Good.”

“In the meantime, and… even after… if you can’t sleep, you’re always welcome to come over here. I’ll put the kettle on.”

“What about your sleep?”

“I haven’t been sleeping quite as well as usual, either. I keep focusing on noises and can’t seem to settle my mind.”

“Crap sent your ADHD into overdrive?”

“Basically.”

For a long moment, they enjoyed the view and each other’s quiet company. Billy even felt himself drifting off when he noticed a shift in the mattress. Turning his head, he watched as Eleanore rolled onto her side, bringing her closer. Almost close enough to curl into Billy’s side.

“Is it wrong that I’m glad you were the one I was stuck with?”

He smiled over at her, watching her face in the lilac glow.

“No.”

“Good.”

Eleanore leaned forward slightly and Billy was sure of her intent. Leaning towards her, they nearly met in the middle. Billy hovered. This wouldn’t be a fling or a friends with benefits thing. This was something he didn’t want to rush. He gave her the last inch, totally her choice. Eleanore closed the distance with a gentle, slow kiss Billy was more than happy to return en kind.

Her lips were warm, full. The kiss was tentative, and he could tell she lacked experience. One hand curled up into his hair as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss a little, his own hand slipping to her waist. He had no intention of turning this into a full-blown make-out session. Tonight was a night for savoring.

When they came up for air, Eleanore leaned her forehead against his shoulder, avoiding eye contact. Billy reached, moving his hand to her back and rubbing up and down gently, not wishing to break contact with her just yet. Both of them were smiling goofy smiles, feeling giddy.

“Billy?”

“Mm-hm?”

“What happens next?”

As if he hadn’t already guessed she had been too busy winning trophies to ever have a love life, now he knew for sure.

“We look at the stars, maybe kiss a few more times, fall asleep at some point, and have more breakfast in the morning.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Good.”

Billy tapped a button and lights under the bed came on, adding a little more light to the room without affecting the view of the stars through his skylight. Eleanore looked around, surprised.

“When did you do that?”

“I’m always doing little upgrades. Helps keep me busy.”

“Nice. I like this one.”

“Like I said, Welcome Sign is always up for you.”

“Good.”, she said as she settled into his side, both of them looking up at the stars.

Billy had never had a girlfriend or such who was taller than him, making this arrangement a new to him. He found that he didn’t mind it.

“May I stay?”

“For as long as you want.”

“One’s going to kill us.”

“Three and Seven will have our backs. Five and Three will have theirs.”

“6-to-1, he’s really going to kill us.”

“Does that make you want to change your mind?”, he asked, genuinely concerned.

He needn’t have been so worried. Eleanore leaned over, pressing another soft kiss to his lips.

“That answer your question?”

“It does.”

Settling back, they resumed watching the stars while laid out next to each other. Billy smiled to himself. He had a purpose, a team full of friends, a little building all his own, and now someone to share all of that with. And, he was happy. For the first time in his whole life, he felt content.

~*~The End~*~


End file.
